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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24671023">of enigmas, leaders, and other such mysteries</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/amuk/pseuds/amuk'>amuk</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 3, Persona Series</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bonding, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Missing Scene</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:20:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,327</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24671023</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/amuk/pseuds/amuk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Shinjiro doesn’t know what to make of his silent leader, with his wry sense of humour and his unreadable expression. Maybe walking Koromaru can change that.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aragaki Shinjiro &amp; Arisato Minato, Aragaki Shinjiro &amp; Koromaru, Aragaki Shinjiro &amp; Sanada Akihiko, Arisato Minato &amp; Koromaru, Arisato Minato &amp; Sanada Akihiko</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>63</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>of enigmas, leaders, and other such mysteries</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For the Free Time Zine, I got assigned the p3 boys, so I wanted to do a little Akihiko, Shinjiro, Koromaru, and Minato bonding. I’m sorry Junpei, you got left out.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I’ll join you.” Even as he says them, Shinjiro can’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. Can’t understand the way his body is unfolding off the lounge couch, his hand already setting aside his book. His body is on auto-pilot and he’s making his way toward the dorm’s entrance before he can comprehend it.</p><p> </p><p>Even worse is Minato’s reaction. His fingers curl around his headphones, half-way through slipping them on. With no reaction, not even that of surprise, he merely nods as he settles his headphones around his neck. Like this is an everyday occurrence, as though Shinjiro is any of the other dormmates, joining Minato for afterschool snacks and homework and weekend outings.</p><p> </p><p>Koromaru yips excitedly, making up for it entirely as he bounces around Shinjiro. His tail is on a motor, wagging furiously. Tugging on his pant leg, Koromaru urges him to walk faster before letting go and sprinting to the door.</p><p> </p><p>“Time for his walk already?” Akihiko glances at the grandfather clock. The pendulum swings forward and back, the hand ticking forward by one, and he sets down his boxing gloves. “I’ll come too.”</p><p> </p><p>“Three’s overkill, ain’t it?” Shinjiro mutters as his friend grabs his coat and slings it over his shoulders, ever the action hero. The motion shouldn’t look as cool as it does. “Even two’s kinda pushing it.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’ll be fine.” Akihiko shrugs his shoulders dismissively. Already Minato is ahead of them, holding the door open, and Akihiko gestures for Shinjiro to go first. He snorts derisively when he doesn’t move. “Unless you’re backing out?”</p><p> </p><p>It is stupid, in all honesty. That sentence is barely a challenge, they are in high school and should be beyond that, and it isn’t like it makes a difference if he comes or not. Shinjiro grits his teeth and pushes his way past Akihiko. “Never.”</p><p> </p><p>It is stupid and he falls for it every. Damned. Time. Akihiko’s lips curl into a smirk as he follows him out. He doesn’t say anything and that somehow makes it worse, as though Shinjiro has lost in a different way. A more important way. He thinks perhaps with Akihiko that’ll always be the case. There is something about childhood friends, about knowing someone in a way that just settles in the bones, that makes it so. Weaknesses, desires, hopes; all of them are laid bare and impossible to hide.</p><p> </p><p>The exact opposite stands outside, scuffing his shoe against the sidewalk impatiently. Shinjiro has known Minato for all of a month and he is pretty sure he will never be able to understand the enigma that is their leader. Hell, he’s certain that no one at the dorm even understands him; Junpei mentioned catching Minato staring vacantly in Tartarus’s lobby several times. Each time it’d happened, his Persona changed, and there’s just something wrong about that. It’s like he’s changing his face every battle.</p><p> </p><p>“Yip!” Koromaru barks, sitting on his haunches. The second the door clicks shut, he’s trotting down the usual path. Every now and then, he turns back to them and impatiently shakes his head.</p><p> </p><p>“Someone’s really excited.” Akihiko chuckles warmly as he watches Koromaru sprint between grassy lots and garbage cans. “He doesn’t usually have this much energy.”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Minato simply agrees, hands in his pockets. His shoulders are slack and with his laid-back posture, he looks shorter than he actually is.</p><p> </p><p>Not that Shinjiro was any better. Slouching is his default by now, his lanky frame automatically hunching over till he’s only barely taller than Akihito. Which is still taller, and he takes a not-insignificant amount of pride in that. “Probably ‘cause of school.” When Minato glances at him questioningly, Shinjiro shrugs. “Everyone’s busier now.”</p><p> </p><p>“Now that you mention it…” Akihiko slows his step, his hands curling into fists. Quickly punching the air in front of him, he grins cockily as he bounces on the balls of his feet. “Boxing club’s started again.”</p><p> </p><p>“Did it even stop for you?” Shinjiro asks, genuinely curious. He can hardly remember a time Akihiko didn’t have his boxing gloves, the red leather polished till it shone. Even the band-aid on his forehead seems like a permanent injury.</p><p> </p><p>“Mitsuru banned him for a while,” Minato helpfully explains. There’s a light smile on his face, as though he’s remembering something funny, and Shinjiro is afraid to blink and miss the expression. “You played with Koromaru a lot then.”</p><p> </p><p>“It was training, not playing,” Akihiko hotly defends, his jaw set and shoulders rounded. Every part of him looks ready to fight, as usual, but there’s something unusually soft about him. Even his tone has less bite than normal. “He’s good at running.”</p><p> </p><p>“He’s a dog. Of course he is.” Shinjiro snorts, giving his friend dubious stare. It’s weird enough that Koromaru has a Persona and regularly shoots himself in the head in a nonsensical dungeon. If Akihiko starts competing with a dog, maybe they should just let the Dark hour take over. “Only you’d call walking a dog ‘training’.”</p><p> </p><p>“’Cause I’m the only one who’d actually train instead of walk.” Ahead of them, Koromaru disappears up the staircase to the local shrine. His paws scrape against the stone steps and Akihiko turns toward them, a competitive gleam in his eyes. “Here, I’ll show you the results. Race me up?”</p><p> </p><p>“Seriously?” Shinjiro mutters flatly. Not that it matters what he thinks; Minato’s already sprinting up the stairs, Akihiko just ahead of them, and even if they caught him off guard, hell if he’s going to lose. Straightening up, he takes full advantage of his long legs and skips every other stair on his way up. It’s late evening now, the sky a soft, hazy pink, few visitors to catch sight of three high school boys breathlessly running up to a shrine.</p><p> </p><p>Koromaru is first, as expected. These stairs are his home. Were his home. His tongue lolls out as he sits at the head of the steps, his mouth stretched into a wide grin. What <em>is</em> surprising is that Minato is second, pulling just ahead of Akihiko in the last ten steps. He’s hunched over, taking in big, deep breaths, and Shinjiro doesn’t even have time to feel angry at his third-place tie with Akihiko.</p><p> </p><p>Minato is second, despite his frail-looking body. There are a lot of surprises with this kid, with the people he knows and the powers he uses, but they catch Shinjiro off-guard all the same.</p><p> </p><p>“Not bad,” Akihiko pants, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Breathing in deeply, he forces his heartrate to slow down. “You improved.”</p><p> </p><p>“I knew you’d do that,” Minato heaves, his way of an explanation. It doesn’t make sense. Maybe it’s the lack of air. He’s leaning over, his hands on his knees as he tries to catch his breath.</p><p> </p><p>Shinjiro takes the easy way out and just sits on the nearby bench. There’s no need to posture over recovery. Koromaru yawns before jumping back on his feet, his tail wagging as though it’s powered by the energizer bunny. Maybe he really did miss his walks; between school work, clubs, and Tartarus, no one’s had time to relax, let alone go out with Koromaru.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright.” Akihiko stretches his arms above him and cricks his neck. Rolling back his shoulders, he glances down at Koromaru. “Up for some ball?”</p><p> </p><p>Koromaru barks, already racing off to a corner of the shrine. Minato cocks his head. “Ball?”</p><p> </p><p>“Didn’t you know?” Akihiko stares at them blankly, surprise etched on his face. “Lots of kids come to the playground here, and they’re always forgetting toys and balls.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s…kinda cheap,” Shinjiro mutters, watching as Akihiko jogs off to Koromaru. At least Mitsuru could have bought some dog toys. Or maybe Akihiko’s just too lazy to bring them.</p><p> </p><p>“I guess.” Minato plops on the bench next to him. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he leans back and watches as Koromaru digs in the sand for a child’s lost treasure. “We can buy something on our way home.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Shinjiro replies lamely, not sure where to take the conversation from here. Or if he even should. It isn’t like he has a problem with silence and based on the past few weeks, it seems Minato doesn’t either. From the corner of his eye, he observes as Minato contently just sits there, his expression conflict-free.</p><p> </p><p>There isn’t a part of this kid that looks ready to fight. Even his muscle seems non-existent, despite the heavy swords and axes he picks on a nightly basis. Then again, Ken also somehow fights with a lance bigger than he’s tall, so maybe it’s part of their powers. Added stamina to go with everything else.</p><p> </p><p>Akihiko winds up his arm, chucking a ball from one end of the playground to the other. Koromaru’s already running, his head turning back for a second to gauge the ball, and then he leaps. Minato’s smiling absentmindedly during the exchange, his fingers playing with his headphone’s cords. For a brief moment, Shinjiro misses Akihiko and his big mouth; even when he doesn’t like it, it is always more comfortable with Akihiko around.</p><p> </p><p>The wind picks up slightly and Shinjiro pulls his beanie down a little more snugly around his ears.</p><p> </p><p>“Koromaru likes your food.”</p><p> </p><p>He blinks, almost missing the words. <em>Food</em>. <em>Koromaru</em>. A combination of words that is a closely guarded secret. Shinjiro stares at Minato blankly; he was always alone when he cooked for Koromaru. No, to be exact, he always made sure he was alone when he cooked. Checked the halls, checked the schedule, even set up a freakin’ bell trap.</p><p> </p><p>Reading the confusion on his face, Minato rubs his neck. “Koromaru told Aigis. He wants to thank you.”</p><p> </p><p>Shit. He’d forgotten the robot could talk to dogs. The blood drains from his face and what else has that dog told her? Told their leader? “Huh.”</p><p> </p><p>An inelegant answer but Minato takes it in stride. He wraps his headphone cord around his fingers. “The same goes for me.” A short pause. Shinjiro can feel his heart pounding. “Thanks for fixing those meals and worrying over us.”</p><p> </p><p>At this he stiffens entirely, his ears burning from embarrassment. Seriously, just what did Koromaru tell Aigis? The only witness to all of his cooking endeavours. He thinks back to all the times he’s talked to the attentive dog, mentioning Akihiko’s or Mitsuru’s diet, and it’s not too late to go back to the streets, is it? Sometimes living in the dorm feels like he’s on drugs, so it isn’t too hard to make the switch to the real things again. “J-just doing my part,” he manages. Gruffly, he hopes.</p><p> </p><p>In all probability, the stutter just makes him sound flustered. Minato doesn’t laugh like he’s expecting. Instead, he’s still playing with his headphones, his gaze directed anywhere but at Shinjiro. “If you need any help, let me know.”</p><p> </p><p>Minato looks at him now, unwavering, and Shinjiro remembers another time people looked at him like that, as though he has something to offer. As though he has value. Like three years ago, when they first started fighting at midnight and Mitsuru and Akihiko would call on him for backup. Or even further bacck, when Miki wanted to sit on his shoulders and watch the fireworks. It’s been a long time since anyone needed him for anything and Shinjiro can only avert his gaze, rubbing his neck awkwardly. “Sure.”</p><p> </p><p>The tennis ball rolls to Minato’s feet. Akihiko’s not far behind it, Koromaru trotting tiredly by his side. “Think it’s time we head back.”</p><p> </p><p>The sun’s set by now, the sky above them cloudy, and Shinjiro reluctantly gets up. It’s a warm night, the last vestiges of summer clinging before fall fully rolls in. “Guess so. It’s dinner time, anyway.”</p><p> </p><p>“Who’s cooking?” Minato asks and Shinjiro lets out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. It’s not so much he wants to hide his hobby so much as he doesn’t want Akihiko to know about it. He’s not sure he can handle the nonstop teasing.</p><p> </p><p>“Fuuka.” Akihiko grimaces as they head down the shrine path. “I know she’s watching all those cooking shows but…I don’t think it’s helping much.”</p><p> </p><p>“What shows?” Shinjiro asks, surprised. Then again, that would explain the fancy recipe she tried the last time they chatted. For someone with her skill level, beef stroganoff is a pretty high bar.  </p><p> </p><p>With a shrug, Akihiko jumps the last three steps, landing with a huge thud. “Not sure. Food Network is always on whenever I turn on the T.V. and she’s the only one who’s into cooking.” He has a wry expression as he turns back to them, his face illuminated by the street light. “Don’t think it’s really helping her, though.”</p><p> </p><p>Fortunately, it’s dark on the trail, the tree’s blocking out the moonlight, and if he flushes lightly, no one can see. He’ll have to remember the change the channel next time he’s watching TV. Clearing his throat, Shinjiro slowly walks down the last few steps. “It takes practice. She’s trying.”</p><p> </p><p>“She’s improving.” Minato brushes his bangs out of his face. When they look at him curiously, he clarifies, “I’m taste testing for her.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh man.” Pity colours Akihiko’s expression and he gives Minato a sympathetic pat on the back. “Good luck.”</p><p> </p><p>Minato shrugs, waving off the comfort. “It’s fine. She’s improving.” He turns to Shinjiro, his lips curling into a sly smile. “She has help.”</p><p> </p><p>Shinjro frowns—is that <em>teasing?</em> From their stoic leader? Before Akihiko can catch on, he picks up the pace. “We can all taste test.”</p><p> </p><p>Maybe if he gets there fast enough, he can salvage Fuuka’s cooking. He can hear Minato chuckling next to him and on at least one thing he stands corrected: their leader is not as mysterious as he thought. No, instead Minato’s a bit of a troll and Shinjiro is never going to reveal any weaknesses to him again.</p>
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